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Topic: The 42 Purifications (Read 309573 times)

Hoteps!All interesting thoughts folks. Somewhere in "Ask the Nisut" you'll find a reply from her Highness to me.Inter alia she argues that individually we can neither be Ma'at not commit Isfet.Individually we can"merely"(my word not Her's) contribute to them because each is the universal totality .

I am reminded for my early X'tian teaching at school "First the Thought, then the Word, then the Deed" and of our KO Religious belief that the Word, written or spoken has Power.

On that basis I feel (but fall short as many do of achievement) that even a nasty, unkind,unworthy thought contributes to Isfet - whereas the kind word or generous/helpful act(provided it is not self-serving) contributes to Ma'at.

Now to me, the tricksy thing would be, what is the exact translation of the word cited as "murder" and what was the Kemetic definition of that word. One of the problems with looking at ancient ethical standards is that we tend to view them from our own modern POV. How did those of Kemet define "murder"?

I have no idea what the AE definition of murder would be - that's a great question! Just IMHO, though, 99% of us can only define things by our own modern perspective, and I don't think the gods would expect anything else of us to be honest.

I also agree that taking a life in self defense/defense of loved ones including fellow countrymen (kill or be killed) is not murder. Whether you agree with the reasons for a war or not, the soldiers out there being shot at to ensure our freedoms (and those of the people they may be fighting for in the foreign country) have to be able to shoot back, yes? I find it sticky with the folks watching an execution and enjoying it - if the person being executed had murdered my loved one in some horrible way, I just might enjoy watching them die too. Not proud of that fact, just sayin'.

Just to clarify a couple of things, I was only pointing out what to me was a little over-thinking on the question of what constituted murder. I would be the last person to call someone who killed in self-defense or even defense of a person unable to defend themselves a murderer.

The AE question about the definition of the word was more academic curiosity on my part than anything. It is certainly the case that we tend to view things through our modern perspective. One would expect this. I think, though, that, when we are looking at ancient cultures and want to examine a concept in more depth, it is often useful to try to look to the language and social norms of that time for clues about what was meant.

Pretty interesting. It seemed the laws were based on a common sense 'right and wrong' rather than strict legal codes. Most of the time the council of elders Qenbet or Great Qenbet where the vizier or Pharoah would preside over a court, where evidence was brought and witnessess were called. Often the god itself would be brought out by priests to render judgement.

Note: I just wanted everyone to know that most of what I present here is my own personal gnosis and should be taken as such. I do use some sources from our forum boards, especially those in reference to our Nisut Hekatawy I (AUS).Purification 5

Hail Terrible-Faced One, coming from Rosetjau, I do not disobey requirements.

This purification invokes the guardian of Saqqara, whom I believe is Sokar (please correct me if I am mistaken). Sokar was a netherworld deity of Memphis. Hemet writes that this purification is specifically referring to the importance of honoring the dead. She writes that “requirements” can also be translated as “necessary offerings.”

Honoring the Akhu was of great importance to the ancients, and is to us modern Kemetic Orthodox as well. We must give offerings to our ancestors to feed their kua, so that their kau will not die, but be nourished and continue to live. Giving offerings for me, is more than just giving food. It is speaking their names, remembering special moments, pouring cool water libations, and saying a heartfelt prayer. Occasionally I offer a nice dinner on birthdays, or other special occasions. I know that by doing these things, my Akhu are present and listening.

How do you give offerings to the Akhu? Do you do anything special? I would love to hear of everyone’s experiences with their Akhu.

Senebty,

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 pm by Raheri »

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Son of Wesir | Heri-sesheta

"O my heart which I had from my mother,Do not rise up agianst me as a witness in the presence of the Lord of Things;Do not bring up anything agianst me in the presence of the Great God, Lord of the West."

This is one of the aspects of KO that I am not comfortable with. My father was adopted and my mother's people are in Great Britain somewhere ( she left with my father and never really looked back; I met my Scottish grandmother once, for a few hours, and that was that).

The adoptive grandparents who raised me as well as my mother and father are dead but my relationship to them was fraught with control and abuse issues. I am honestly not sure that I want to invite these people into my space after the years that I have spent unwinding some of the damage from these difficult relationships.

I know the argument that the ancestors are not just those whom you are aware of but it feels to me like there is this wall, from those difficulies, that I have trouble getting past. Add to that the fact that I have a whole set of biological relatives on my dad's side that I have no clue about and it makes for a pretty confusing situation.

I would love to hear how others have dealt with this or similar situations.

I asked the same question when I came to the House. I was sexually abused from a young age by my paternal grandfather who is now deceased. And what I was told was that it was up to me. That you don't have to honor an Akh just because they're an Akh if they haven't earned it or have mistreated you. No way do you have to do that. My grandfather is not on my shrine. I did not write his name on a star to hang on the wall at Tawy. I did not write his name in the Akhu book there. And unless something changes, I don't intend to.

Hail Terrible-Faced One, coming from Rosetjau, I do not disobey requirements.

When I first read this Purification, I was not sure what exactly it meant. I felt, though, that the "requirements" it speaks of is in more of a general sense. When you say that Hemet(AUS) says it is translated to "necessary offerings," I feel like it is offerings to not only the Akhu but also the Names. Does anyone else feel this way?

I have to confess that I do not have an Akhu shrine... reason being, I haven't had any close family members pass into the West. Although, on February 3rd of this year, I did have an Uncle pass into the West, and I do plan on creating my Akhu shrine for him. Lack of time has not yet let me do so, though. With that said, I can't really contribute to this part of the discussion...

This particular purification invokes Shu and Tefnut. These are two Names I have little experience with. I believe they represented air and moisture to the ancients. Water and oxygen are essential to life, and Shu and Tefnut represent the basics of life and creation (being the children of the Self-Created One).

By proclaiming this purification, we are basically saying that we don’t twist words or lie. What does this mea and how does it effect us? Just take a look at society today. When you thing of someone who distorts the truth, other people’s words, their own words, or who is a pathological liar; how do you feel about this person? Would you want to be this person?

A person’s character can be seen from what issues from their mouth. If I complain everyday about everything, eventually I will be a very unhappy person; not finding joy in anything. If I twist the words of my friends to take advantage of situations; then I will soon have no friends.

Speech for me is essential for life. Maybe speech is the wrong word, perhaps communication is better. Communication is essential just like air and water; like Shu and Tefnut. If we surround our bodies with distortions and illusions, the air becomes toxic and the water poisoned. Life then cannot continue and we will die.

May Netjer help me in all I do to be true of voice, so that I too may join the glorious akhu and be vindicated.

Senebty,

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Son of Wesir | Heri-sesheta

"O my heart which I had from my mother,Do not rise up agianst me as a witness in the presence of the Lord of Things;Do not bring up anything agianst me in the presence of the Great God, Lord of the West."

Essentially, negative actions invite negative "influences" into the created universe. The created and uncreated are always at odds with eachother. Its like matter and anti-matter.

To give a little background....here is how I understand it.....in the beginning, there was nothing but what we refer to as Nun (pronounced something like "noon" but with less emphasis on the "oo") (meaning "the waters" if I am correct). It contained all of the potential of creation. Lets say that Nun is like an ocean, and that the potential of creation is the salt in the water. Now lets suppose that the salts in this ocean suddenly started coalescing (as salts often do)...call that action "creation"....the potential being actualised. So now we have a big clump of salt (the created world) lying in a body of water (the uncreated world). There is some kind of cohesive bond that keeps salt crystals bound together, and similarly there is a cohesive bond that keeps the created world together. Negative actions are essential a solvent for that bond. Doing anything outside of Ma'at (the personification of truth, justice, balance, order, etc...this is the cohesive bond that I referred to) is like water dissolving away at this clump of salt. The created wants to exist on its own, and the uncreated wants to return to a state of neutrality. If we act within Ma'at, we maintain the bonds that hold together all of creation. If we don't, we're destroying ourselves....slowly dissolving away at existence itself.